Tag Archives: St. John’s University

The St. John’s Red Storm saw their season come to an end on Sunday when they lost to the Arkansas Razorbacks, 4-3, in the finals of the Stillwater Regional bracket of the NCAA Tournament at Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The Red Storm finish the season with an overall record of 41-16 as the Stillwater Regional finalists, Big East Tournament champions and Big East regular season champions.

The game was a close contest throughout and Arkansas managed to score a run in the ninth inning to seal the victory and knock St. John’s out of the tournament.

It was a scoreless game heading into the fifth inning, when the Razorbacks grabbed the lead. They led off the inning with back-to-back singles and a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third base. Arkansas’ catcher, Tucker Pennell, hit a sacrifice fly, bringing in one run, and left fielder, Joseph Serrano added an RBI single to give the Razorbacks a 2-0 lead.

Arkansas increased their lead to 3-0 in the top of the sixth when Tyler Spoon launched a solo home run off Red Storm relief pitcher Shawn Heide.

St. John’s managed to get on the scoreboard with a two-run sixth inning. Center fielder Alex Caruso worked a leadoff walk and second baseman, Robert Wayman, reached base on a throwing error, but the ball soared into the dugout and Caruso was awarded home, while Wayman was given second. Michael Donadio then smacked an RBI single to right field, cutting the Razorbacks’ lead to 3-2.

The Red Storm led off the seventh inning with a single from Jarred Mederos. He quickly stole second base and scored on an RBI single by Robbie Knighties to tie the game at three runs apiece.

In the top of the ninth, Arkansas had runners on first and second before a sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Serrano lined a one-out RBI single into left to give the Razorbacks a 4-3 lead.

Arkansas’ closer, Zach Johnson, struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth for the save and the win.

Wayman, Knightes and first baseman Matt Harris were each named to the Stillwater Regional All-Tournament Team at their respective positions after St. John’s was eliminated from tournament play.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble could shutter one of its two remaining locations in Queens if it doesn’t renew its lease.

The 22,000-square-foot location at 70-00 Austin St. in Forest Hills, which has been there for more than 20 years, may close when its lease expires in January. The bookstore declined to extend its lease five more years at the location, according to representatives of landlord Muss Development.

Representatives for the firm said they are hoping to keep the Forest Hills location open.

“We’re having current discussions with the property owner regarding an extension of lease at Forest Hills,” said David Deason, vice president of development at Barnes & Noble. “We have clearly and consistently communicated to the property owner that we would extend long term, but at rents very close to what we are currently paying. We have been in business there for over 20 years, and hope that we can come to terms that are acceptable to both parties.”

However, an executive from Muss Development, which is prepared to put the space on the market, confirmed to The Courier that they have not received word from Barnes & Noble representatives that they want to sign a new long-term lease or even a one-year extension.

“I would love to keep Barnes & Noble if they have an interest in a long-term deal,” said Jeff Kay, COO of Muss Development. “We got no indication from them that they want to stay long term.”

After sweeping a weekend road series in Indiana against Big East Conference foe Butler, St. John’s Red Storm traveled to Brooklyn to defeat the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, 6-3.

The scoring opened up in the third inning when the Red Storm’s Michael Donadio tripled to center field with one out in the inning. Zach Lauricella followed that with an RBI groundout to put St. John’s up 1-0.

The Blackbirds answered right back, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third. St. John’s starter, Joey Christopher, gave up a two-out walk and was lifted from the game. Alex Katz came in for relief, but promptly walked the next two batters to load the bases.

LIU Brooklyn wasted little time making St. John’s pay, as first baseman Mark Hernandez doubled to center, driving in three runs, giving them a 3-1 lead.

St. John’s began chipping away at the Blackbirds’ lead in the fourth inning when second baseman Ty Blankmeyer reached on an error to score Troy Dixon, cutting LIU Brooklyn’s lead to 3-2.

In the following frame, St. John’s tied the game at 3 when Jarred Mederos hit an RBI double into right field.

The Red Storm retook the lead in the seventh inning when Donadio lined a hard RBI single up the middle, scoring Alex Caruso who reached base on an infield single and moved to second on a wild pitch.

With the score 4-3, St. John’s added two more runs in the top of the ninth to increase their lead to 6-3.

This was the Red Storm’s fourth consecutive victory, bringing them to a 16-10 overall record.

New York City college students are getting wings this weekend in Long Island City.

On Sunday, over 250 students from seven city universities and colleges will try to earn a spot in the worldwide competition called Red Bull Paper Wings.

Participants from Manhattan College, and New York, Columbia, St. John’s, Hofstra, Fordham, and Rutgers universities will get together at Studio Square to create paper planes and compete to join 75 other students from around the nation in May at Red Bull’s competition in Austria.

Students from the schools can sign up at www.redbullpaperwings.com and on Sunday will receive the materials to build their planes on-site.

Professional skydiver and Red Bull athlete Jeff Provenzano will be judging the competition to see which design goes the farthest.

The event will take place Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. on the fifth floor event space at Studio Square, located at 35-44 37th St.

Even when the weather outside is frightful, this house will still be warm and delightful.

This large colonial home, built nearly a century ago, features six bedrooms and two bathrooms in about 3,000 square feet, and sits on a lot that’s more than three times its size at 175-02 Grand Central Parkway Service South. But one of its most appealing features may be its two fireplaces — one on each side of the home. The asking price is currently $985,000.

The residence is a single-family detached home, but it was built to accommodate two families — hence the double chimneys, according to broker Michael Chambers of Douglas Elliman Real Estate. There’s also a kitchen on the first floor and gas lines hooked up to the second floor for a smaller-sized kitchen.

The elderly couple selling the house has lived at the home for more than 40 years, and has kept the abode in great shape. The floors are original hardwood throughout, but there’s no creaking, even on wooden staircases.

Jamaica Estates is known for having large-scale detached houses unique from many other neighborhoods in the borough. But it’s hard to find another property with as much land as this one has, even in neighborhoods like Jamaica Estates.

There is more than 11,100 square feet of land for this corner property, which is near St. John’s University. And because the house sits on a hill, it has a huge, partially finished basement at ground level.

The garage, which is attached to the basement, can hold two cars, and the extended driveway can fit a few more.

But besides all its amenities, the best-kept secret in this home is the attic, which is like having another full floor with nearly 12-foot-high ceilings, lots of space and 10 windows. Though the current homeowners use it for storage, Chambers believes it’s possible to transform it into another bedroom.

Former three-term Gov. Mario Cuomo, once a leading and passionate voice for the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and one of the most important political figures to come from Queens, died on Thursday. He was 82.

Cuomo, who was raised in Jamaica, passed away only hours after his son, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was sworn in for a second term during an inauguration held in Lower Manhattan at the World Trade Center.

The elder Cuomo had been ill for months. His last public appearance was on Election Night when he was with his son during a victory celebration.

Gov. Cuomo spoke about his father during his inaugural address Thursday morning, noting that “we’re missing one family member.” Cuomo spent New Year’s Eve with his ailing father and family, even reading him his speech.

“He couldn’t be here physically today, my father. But my father is in this room. He is in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He is here and he is here,” Cuomo said pointing to his head and heart. “And his inspiration and his legacy and his experience is what has brought this state to this point. So let’s give him a round of applause,” Cuomo said.

According to the governor’s office, Mario Cuomo “passed away from natural causes due to heart failure this evening at home with his loving family at his side.”

Cuomo was remembered as an important voice in both state and national politics.

“From the hard streets of Queens, Mario Cuomo rose to the very pinnacle of political power in New York because he believed in his bones in the greatness of this state, the greatness of America and the unique potential of every individual,” said Sen. Charles Schumer.

“My prayers and thoughts are with the governor, the whole Cuomo family, and all who knew and loved Mario,” Schumer said. “Our hearts go out to Gov. Andrew Cuomo who gave a great speech today that I am certain his father was proud of.”

In a statement issued by the White House Thursday night, President Obama paid homage to Cuomo as “an Italian Catholic kid from Queens, born to immigrant parents,” who “paired his faith in God and faith in America to live a life of public service — and we are all better for it.”

“He rose to be chief executive of the state he loved, a determined champion of progressive values, and an unflinching voice for tolerance, inclusiveness, fairness, dignity and opportunity,” Obama said in his prepared statement.

The son of Italian immigrants who owned a grocery store in South Jamaica, Cuomo cut his political teeth in Queens.

Cuomo first rose to public prominence in 1972 when he was appointed by Mayor John Lindsay as a mediator during bitter a dispute over a proposal to build low-income public housing towers in upper-middle Forest Hills. Prior to that, he had successfully represented Queens homeowners in high-profile disputes with the city and private developers.

Cuomo lost two early political contests — first a Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in 1974 and then the 1977 Democratic primary for mayor of New York City when he was defeated by Ed Koch. He won his first campaign in 1978 in the race for lieutenant governor.

He ran for governor four years later, defeating Koch in the Democratic primary before going on to win the general election.

Cuomo graduated from St. John’s Preparatory School and attended one year at St. John’s University before he was lured away from college by an offer to play baseball for a minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. But after suffering a serious injury when he was hit in the back of the head by a baseball, he returned to St. John’s University.

Cuomo went on to earn a law degree at St. John’s, where he continued to teach part-time while he practiced law in both the private and public sector before entering politics.

As a Democratic governor during President Reagan’s administration, Cuomo was among the few in his party to challenge the then-popular president. He became the leading voice for the party’s liberal wing even as the nation skewed conservative in the 1980s.

It was his stunning keynote speech during the 1984 Democratic Convention in San Francisco that fueled speculation that Cuomo could seek the presidential nomination down the road. Cuomo himself continued to stoke the speculation until the last hour before the filing deadline for the New Hampshire primary in 1991.

But he remained a prominent voice within the party, known and admired for his soaring oratory.

Cuomo came up in 1993 as a potential Supreme Court nominee by President Clinton. But then in his third term as governor he removed his name from consideration for the top court.

Cuomo is survived by his wife of 60 years, Matilda Raffa Cuomo, his children Margaret, Andrew, Maria, Madeline and Christopher, and 14 grandchildren.

A wake will be held for Cuomo on Monday at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home, located at 1076 Madison Ave. in Manhattan, with calling hours from 1 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 10 p.m. The following day, a funeral service will take place at the St. Ignatius Loyola Church at 980 Park Ave., also in Manhattan, at 11 a.m.

Four years ago, Steve Lavin returned to coaching and with a team comprised of mostly recruits from the Norm Roberts’ regime, St. John’s returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002.

Then, he recruited a class that fans hoped signaled a resurrection of the program so that would be permanently in the national spotlight.

It has not quite worked out that way. With the Red Storm winning 13, 17 and 20 games in the last three years, they’ve proven to be enigmatic at best.

Perhaps last season was the biggest example of St. John’s confounding ways as it opened conference play with five straight closes losses, but then finished with 11 wins in the last 14 games and then were blown at home by Robert Morris in the NIT.

This year Lavin gets one more go-around with his first recruiting class — and D’Angelo Harrison symbolizes the inconsistencies of recent seasons.

Two years ago, he was suspended for poor conduct, but last year he became one of the league’s top scorers by averaging 17.5 points and was named the Haggerty award winner.

Notice the phrase “top scorer” was used, but not top player — even though the honor is supposed to be for the metropolitan areas top college player.

While Harrison’s scoring average was good enough to be the fourth-best in the league, he only shot 38 percent of his hoops.

The Dolphin Diner in Hillcrest is set to make a splash with its grand opening just a few weeks away.

The eatery already has its sign up and owner and veteran restaurateur John Papas told The Courier that he plans to open the establishment in the second week of September, after completing certain filings with the city.

Papas, who has previously owned diners around the city and one upstate, said he thought it was a good spot for a restaurant, and that’s why he decided to open there despite Cornerstone recently shutting its doors.

Dolphin will offer everything from seafood to steaks, and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner daily from 6 a.m. to midnight. The new establishment will be able to seat up to 125 people, Papas said.

The diner is still hiring employees for positions, and expects to have more than 20 workers when it opens.

Following in the footsteps of the St. John’s men’s basketball team last summer, the women’s basketball team will travel through Italy and Spain for pre-season games in the program’s first experience traveling abroad.

The Red Storm will play four games during the journey from Aug. 16 through Aug. 27, against the Dutch National Team, Adriatic Sea Sirens, Distrito Olimpico Madrid and CB Barcelona Saint Feliuenc. Mixed into the game schedule are sightseeing and service trips to famous spots such as the Coliseum and the Pantheon.

“This opportunity is more about the bigger picture for our players,” head coach Joe Tartamella said. “We’ll have a chance to visit our campus in Rome and be able to do some community service projects.”

The European contests will be the first time the Johnnies play against other teams since having lost their senior leaders, guards Eugeneia McPherson and Briana Brown.

“We’ve had about 10 practices and they’ve probably practiced a lot more together, so it will be a good test for us,” Tartarmella said.

Last season, the Johnnies finished with an overall record of 23-11 and defeated the University of Southern California in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. But the team lost to the University of Tennessee, 67-51, in the second round of the national tournament.

This year the team has added four freshmen, who are expected to see minutes from the pre-season journey. Team members admit that they are still in need of fine-tuning before the season starts and they hope the trip will do just that.

“We’re still trying to put the pieces together, but I think it gives us a better scale overall of where we are going to be in October,” junior guard Danaejah Grant said. “It gives us a jump-start on the other teams that don’t have this same opportunity. I think ultimately it puts us ahead of everyone else.”

Anthony Michaelides, 25, lost control of his bike on June 15 while trying to merge into a freeway in Los Angeles and hit the guardrail, propelling him over the barrier and more than 100 feet down into a ravine, family members said.

He suffered double lung collapse, bleeding from his brain, a ruptured spleen, a lacerated aorta, severe damage to his liver, fractured wrists and a broken left arm. Despite the injuries, paramedics found him alive and currently he is in stable condition at Los Angeles County General Hospital under heavy sedation. His family is hoping to raise money through upcoming events and crowdfunding site CrowdRise.

“He is one of the sweetest and most generous persons you could meet. Whenever you needed help he was always right there,” said Michaelides’ cousin, Krysta, who started the CrowdRise page. “This is such a tragedy, I couldn’t sit back and do nothing. I think about him every day. But doing this and collecting donations like this is gathering positive vibes. It’s keeping me busy and in my mind, keeping Anthony alive for me.”

Family and friends will host fundraising events at Republic Bar in Astoria on Wednesday night, in Pita Pan restaurant on Saturday, and in Five Guys Burgers and Fries chains in The Bay Terrace shopping center on Friday and Saturday in the College Point location. Proceeds from sales during the day at the eateries will go toward Michaelides. There will also be #saveanthony shirts on sale for $15 during the events.

Michaelides graduated from St. John’s University with a degree in psychology, and then earned a master’s last year from New York University in education counseling. His goal was to be a guidance counselor at Frank Sinatra, but since there were no open opportunities he moved to Los Angeles late last year.

The school called Michaelides a few weeks before his accident to let him know there was a position opening, a sibling said, but now he won’t be able to take it.

“It’s just really bad luck. Everything that happened is bad luck,” said Michaelides’ sister, Connie. “It would mean a lot to the family if he did get his dream job, but our priority is for him to get better.”

“I look forward to continuing to work together to make our community a better place to work and live. However, for personal and business reasons, I will not be a candidate in this election season,” said Messer, who announced his decision through a press release on June 9.

Messer, who holds a master’s degree in government and politics from St. John’s University, ran an unsuccessful race against Stavisky in the 2012 Democratic Primary, losing the race to the incumbent after receiving 41.9 percent of the vote. The Queens Courier reported in 2012 that Messer spent $351,000 of his own money in the campaign.

Messer hoped two years ago that the redrawn District 16, which included a 53 percent Asian population, would give him an advantage, since his wife is Chinese-American, and because the primary was just a head-to-head battle between the candidates.

Messer’s first attempt in 2010 was a three-way primary election with Isaac Sasson, a retired professor and cancer researcher.

“We’re not ruling out a run in the future,” Messer said. “We have so much support in the community now, everyone knows we are here to stay.”

Union workers and representatives of District Council 9 (DC 9) rallied in front of the university’s Gate 1 on Thursday to ask that the school negotiate a contract to paint and prepare vacant dormitories during the summer for when students return in the fall semester. The university uses dozens of non-union workers to paint and prepare the dorms.

“We want everybody to have a fair chance,” said Jose Torrent, a representative from DC 9. “We have a lot of members that live in the area— some whose kids go here.”

Torrent said last year the school said they would give the union a contract, but they never got to negotiate. Union workers have been used in previous university projects, such as the renovation of Carnesecca Arena and the transformation of St. Louise de Marillac Hall cafeteria years ago, Torrent said.

According to a statement from St. John’s University, it accepted bids from union and non-union painting companies for the summer jobs to prepare the dorms and choose a “competitive” non-union offer.

“The university prides itself in giving fair consideration to outside companies (union and non-union) who contract with St. John’s for work-related projects at our New York campus locations,” the statement said. “In this instance, the university decided to accept competitive bids from non-union firms.”

“The law is the law, and we will continue to do whatever it takes to crack down on underage drinking and hold accountable those who serve alcohol to minors,” Cuomo said. “Our message is simple: If you put children at risk by placing alcohol in their hands, you will face the consequences.”

From April 17 to May 1, the SLA used decoys to visit 74 liquor and grocery stores throughout the five boroughs, according to the governor.

The operation was conducted by the SLA’s newly formed part-time investigative unit, which was funded using a $147,000 grant from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some of the stores are within walking distance of several high schools, as well as St. John’s University and Queens College.

Businesses can face civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation if charged for selling alcohol to minors as well as fines, starting at $2,500 to $3,000, for a first time offense. Repeat offenders can potentially have their licenses suspended or revoked.

The New York Cosmos professional soccer team announced the signing of St. John’s senior midfielder and captain Jimmy Mulligan on Friday. The team, which won the NASL championship last year following a 30-year hiatus in the league, believes Mulligan will be a key role player.

“Jimmy is a young, promising midfielder who brings a lot of energy on the field,” Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese said. “He’ll provide good depth on the squad and help add some healthy competition.”

Mulligan, 22, finished his Red Storm career by earning both third team NSCAA All-Northeast Region accolades and second team All-BIG EAST honors. In his senior year, Mulligan helped lead St. John’s to the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Mulligan was also the first St. John’s player to earn NSCAA/Adidas Scholar All-America honors since 2008.

“For any kid growing up it’s a dream to play for their local team,” Mulligan said. “As a New Yorker, I’m thrilled to be signing for the Cosmos and playing for a team with such a revered history.”